Tamping machine



Dec. 24, 1929. P. F. CONNELLY TAMPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet (I N wk VX PF Eon-neg Dec. 24, 1929. CONNELLY 1,740,538

TAMPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 7, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q l 11 w awuc nfo'a PF [BTU-15111 Dec. 24, 1929. P. F. CONNELLY TAMPING MACHINE '5 Sheets-Sheet wucnfoz Filed Nov. 1928 LEE Em TTI'LE 11H l mented Dec. 24, 1929 PETER F. CONNELLY, OF

This invention relates to machines for taniping ballast about railroad ties and has for its object the provision of means whereby the tamper heads may be shifted so as to p crate at dilfcrent points in the length of the ties, permitting a smaller number of tamper heads than was heretofore considered necessary to accomplish the work and enabling the operator to more effectually control the 1g camping operations. The invention provides means whereby an operator upon the truck nia y manually shift the tam er heads transver with respect to the truck and the track and thereby cause the tamper heads to more efficiently drive the ballast under the tics and more evenly distribute the ballast.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and consists in certain novel features which will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tainping machine embodying the present invention,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same Fig. 3 a longitudinal sectional elevation of one of the mounts or supports for a tamper,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the 39 tamper beam,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail transverse section on the line 55 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 6 is a transverse detail section through the tamper-carrying yoke and the tamper beam.

In the practice of the invention, there is provided a truck comprising sills 1 carrying a platform 2 which may extend from end to end of the sills and suitable cross bars 3 providcd at proper intervals in the length of the sills. This truck is carried upon car wheels s. adapted to run upon the track 5 in an obvious manner and it will be understood that the truck is to be pushed along the track rails as the tamping operation progresses.

At the center of the sills 1, standards 6 are erected, and these standards may be braced. as indicated at The standards are vertically slotted, as shown at 8, to accommodate the tamper beam 9 which is caused means FATENT @FHQE SPOKANE, WASHINGTON MACHINE 7, 1828. Serial No. 317,763.

to reciprocate vertically in the operation of the machine and is guided by the slots 8. Upon the upper ends of the standards 6 are bearings 10 in which is journaled a shaft 11 havin crank wheels 12 secured upon its ends, said crank wheels being connected by pitmen 13 with the tamper beam 9, the lower ends of the pit ien being pivotally mounted between brackets 14 secured upon the tamper beam, as will be understood and as indicated in Fig. 2. The crank disks or wheels are formed with counter-balance weights 15 at points in their peripheral dimensions diametrically opposite the pivots 16 which connect the upper ends of the pitmen 13 with the crank disks, the counter-balance weights olfsetting the weight of the tamper beam and the parts carried thereby so that the machine will operate smoothly and easily. At a convenient point in the length of the shaft 11, a sprocket 17 is secured thereon and a chain 18 is trained about said sprocket and about a sprocket 19 on the driving shaft of an engine 20 which is mounted upon the truck, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The engine 20 will preferably be of the internal combustion type and may be of low horse power inasmuch as the operation of the machine does not impose any very heavy strain upon the engine, its principal work being to lift the tamper beam and the parts carried thereby. As shown most clearly in Figs. 5 and 6, the tamper beam 9 is of rectangular cross section and consists of four plates or flatbars 21 secured together by angle irons 22 fitted in the corners defined by bringing the plates or bars 21 together in the form of a square and riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to said bars or plates, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The side plates of the tamper beam have openings formed therethrough at intervals to receive a fulcrum pin or bolt 23 and carried by the ends of each bolt is a yoke or arch d bracket 24 which has its ends rigidly secured to a retaining bar 25 which will be presently more particularly described. The fulcrum pin or bolt 23 is provided with a head at one end abutting the adjacent side of the yoke 24: and its opposite end may be held against withdrawal through the yoke by any approved means, such as a nut 27, threaded onto the end of the bolt and turned home against the side of the yoke, as shown. lhe bolt is keyed to one side of the arch 24, as shown at 28, whereby, if the bolt or fulcrum pin be rocked, the movement will be transmitted to the yoke in an obvious manner. Vi ithin the tamper beam, a pinion 29 is keyed upon the bolt or fulcrum pin 23 and between said pinion and the sides of the beam spacer sleeves 30 are fitted about the pin to prevent endwise movement of the pin and the pinion, and wear plates or spacers 31 may be secured to the outer surfaces of the sides of the beam between the beam and the sides of the yoke so as to maintain the proper relation of the yoke and the beam. Secured in the bottom of the tamper beam upon the brackets 22 and extending the full length of the beam is a guide plate 32 having a longitudinal groove formed upon its upper surface adjacent one side edge, as indicated at 33, and in said groove is fitted a rack bar 34 having rack teeth 35 provided on its upper side at intervals to mesh with therespective pinions 29. At the center of the rack bar on the inner side thereof, rack teeth 36 are provided to mesh with a pinion 37 disposed in a horizontal plane within the tamper beam and sup ported partly by the guide bar 32, keeper plates 38 being secured to the top and bottom of the rackbar at its center to overlap the marginal portion of the pinion 37 and thereby maintain the operative relation of the pinion and the rack.' Said pinion 37 is feathered upon a vertically disposed shaft 39 which has its lower end stepped in a cross bar 3 of the truck, as shown at 40, and has its upper end equipped with a hand lever 41 whereby the shaft maybe rocked by an operator upon the truck. Said shaft 89 passes vertically'through the tamper beam and the top and bottom of the beam may be reinforced by wear plates 42 around the shaft so as to provide a suiiicient support for the shaft, the top and bottom of the tamper beam being longitudinally slotted, as indicated at 43, to accommodate the shaft.

In the upper end of each yoke 24 is swiveled the lower end of an adjusting screw 44 having a hand wheel 45 at its upper end and fitted upon said adjusting screw above the yoke is "a nut 46 having lugs or ears on its opposite sides to which are pivoted the inner ends of links 47 serving as toggles and having their outer ends pivoted upon trunnions 48 provided on collars 49 which are fixed to the upper ends of sleeves 50, the lower ends of said sleeves carrying similar collars 51 provided with trunnions 52 which are pivotally engaged in the ends of'the cross bars 25. Tamper bars 53 pass axially through the sleeves 50 and are constructed with tamper heads 54 at their lower ends, the upper ends of the tamper bars being equipped with nuts 55 forming abutments for expansion springs 56 disposed around the tamper bars between said nuts and plugs 57 fitted in the upper ends of the respective sleeves 50. Similar plugs 58 are fitted in the lower ends of the sleeves 50 and frictionally engage the tamper bars. It will now be understood that, inasmuch as the cross bar 25 is fixed to the yoke 24 and the links 47 are carried by a nut 46, rotation of the adjusting screw will cause said nut 46 to move vertically either upwardly or downwardly and, of course, the links 47 will be thereupon shifted pivotally with respect to the collars 49 and the sleeves 50. The outer ends of the links will be caused to approach or recede accordingly as the nut 46 moves upwardly or downwardly and the sleeves 50 will thereupon be moved toward or from a vertical position through their pivotal connections with the ends of the carrying cross bar 25, the angularity of the tampers being thus readily adjusted to meet the conditions under which work is to be performed.

The tamper bars having been adjusted as described so as to be set in the proper position to work upon the ballast at the opposite sides of a railroad tie, the engine is started and the shaft 11 will be thereby rotated. The crank disks 12 will, of course, rotate with the shaft 11 and the pitmen 13 will be oscillated to impart a vertical reciprocation to the tamper beam 9. Inasmuch as the tampers are carried by the cross bars 25 which are fixed to the several yokes 24 and the yokes, in turn, are mounted upon the tamper beam, the tampers will be caused to follow the movements of the beam. As the tamper beam approaches the lower limit of its movement, the tamper heads will be brought into Contact with the ballastand will deliver a packing blow upon the same which will quickly work the pieces of rock or other material constituting the ballast into position against and under the tie. It will be understood that the tamper bars are heavy and tend to descend under their own weight and the springs 56 are light springs which serve merely to cushion the upward movement of the links 47 which followthe reciprocation of the pitmen 13, breakage of the links or of the upper end portions of the tampers being thereby avoided. It will also be understood that it is not desired to impart a crushing blow to the ballast so that it is not advantageous to fasten the tamper bars to the carrying bar 25 and the links 47 and a slight yielding of the tamper heads to the impact upon the ballast is advantageous.

In tamping machines as most generally heretofore built, the tamper bars could be adjusted angularly in a plane longitudinally of the truck but were fixed transversely of the truck, the result being that, in order to tamp the ballast through the entire longitudinal extent of the railroad tie, it was necessary to provide a large number of tampers working lightens the weight or me machine and thereby reduces the cost of production and ma h tenance and obtains better tamping results. With the tampers arranged, as shown in Fl 2, they work obliquely ith respect to the tie but in vertical planes longitudinal of the truck. The ballast in the direct paths of the several tamper heads will. be quickly worked into place under the tie, but. of course, the ballast located between the direct paths of the tampers will not be affected. In order to work upon this last-mentioned ballast heretofore the tampers have been provided in such number as to constitute practically a tamper head or blade equal in length to the length of the tie. The present invention provides mechanism whereby the tamper-s may be shifted at the will of the operator to operate upon the ballast at the si 3 e of their "ect paths and drive said ballast home. ll hen it is desired to thus shift the tampers, the shaft 39 is rocked by turning the handle 41 in a horizontal plane and the pinion 37 will be thereby rocked and by its engagement with the rack teeth 86 will impart an endwise movement to the rack bar 34. This bar will, in turn, rock the pinions 29 and as said pinions are keyed to the several fulcrum pins or bolts 23 said pins or bolts will be likewise rocked. Inasmuch as the several yokes 24. carrying the tampers are keyed to the respective pins or bolts 23, the rocking or oscillation of the pins will be imparted directly to the yokes and the tampers will be set in inclined positions longitudinally of the ties and transversely of the truck. They will then act upon the ballast at the sides of the ballast previously treated and by providing crank disks of proper diameter and standards 6 of proper height, the tamper beam may be given a. maximum throw, such that in this last described inclined position of the tempers, they will be permitted to drive all the ballast fully hon It will be understood that, when the tampers begin to work upon the ballast, they will meet the surface of the ballast prior to the tamper beam reaching the lower limit of its movement and the mounting of the tamper bars within their su mort. will permit the' tempers to yield to the impact sulliciently to prevent breakage or binding a v oi the parts while at the same time delivering an effectual blow upon the ballast. its thoballast is worked into place and settles, the working stroke of the tampers will, of course, increase and the parts will be so adjusted and proportioned that a full blow may be deli ered upon the ballast by the tampers even when the tampers are disposed obliquely in their extreme positions transversely of the truck.

It will be noted that the mechanism for shifting the tampers is all enclosed within the tamper beam so that it is not apt to be broken or damaged by possible flying pieces of rock or contact with carelessly handled tools nor come into contact with the clothing of workmen and endanger them. The mechanism is simple and compact and weight has been reduced without any impairment of elliciency.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a tamping machine, the combination of a tamper beam, a plurality of tampers carried by the beam, means for vertically reciprocating the tamper beam, and means for adjusting the tempers to perform work at different points between the ends of the beam.

2. In a tamping machine, the combination of a tamper beam, plurality of tampers carried by the beam, means for vertically reciprocating the tamper beam, and means mounted on the beam to oscillate the tampers relative thereto.

8. In a tamping machine, the combination of a tamper beam, means for vertically reciprocating the tamper beam, a plurality of tampers carried by the beam, and means mounted on the beam to shift the working heads of the tempers lengthwise of the beam.

4. In a tamping machine, the combination of a tamper beam, means for vertically reciprocating the beam, a plurality of yokes pivotally supported on the beam, tempers carried by the respective yokes, and means mounted on the beam for pivotally adjusting the yokes and the tampers carried thereby.

5. In a tamping machine, the combination of hollow tamper beam, means for vertically reciprocating said beam, a plurality of yokes pivotally mounted upon the beam, tempers carried by the yokes, an endwise shiftable bar housed in the beam, means carried by the beam for shifting said bar, and means whereby shifting of the bar will rock the yokes.

6. In a tamping machine, the combination of a hollow tamper beam, means for vertically reciprocating the beam, yokes spanning the beam, tampers carried by the several yokes, fulcrum pins fitted through the respective yokes and the beam and keyed to the yokes, pinions within the beams keyed upon the respective pins, a rack bar mounted within the beam and meshing with the several pinions, and means mounted on the beam for reciprocating said rack bar.

7. In a tamping machine, the combination of a hollow tamper beam, means for vertically reciprocating said beam, a plurality of yokes spanning the beam, fulcrum pins fitted through the beam and the respective yokes and keyed to the yokes, pinions keyed upon the respective pins within the beam, a guide plate secured in the beam, a rack bar mounted upon said guide plate and meshing with the several pinions, a controlling shaft extending vertically through the beam, and a pinion fitted upon said shaft and meshing with said rack bar.

8. In a tamping machine, the combination of a truck, slotted standards mounted thereon, a shaft journaled upon the upper ends of the standards, a tamper beam extending through the slots of the standards, tainpers carried by said beam, crank disks secured upon the ends of said shaft, pitmen connecting the crank disks with the tamper beam, counter-balances on the crank disks, and means for rotating said shaft.

9. In a tamping machine, the combination of a tamper beam, means for vertically reciprocating the beam, yokes spanning and carried by the beam, a tamper carrying bar secured to the lower end of each yoke and extending beyond the opposite sides of the same, an'adjusting screw swiveled in the top of the yoke, a nut mounted on said screw above the yoke, links pivoted at their inner ends to the nut, sleeves pivoted at their lower ends to the respective outer ends of said carrying bar and at their upper ends to the outer ends of the respective links, and tamper bars fitted through said sleeves and frietionally held therein.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

PETER F. OONNELLY. 1 s.] 

